A Little Bit Longer
by live-in-dreamland1
Summary: Caitlyn has diabetes. At a concert, she bumps into Nate and they both feel a connection. Nate gives Mitchie and Caitlyn passes to meet the boys after the concert.


**Hey. So this is a story that i have had sitting around for about six months now but i just never knew how to end it. I finally have lol. **

**I hope that you like it :)**

* * *

**A Little Bit Longer**

"How much longer is this going to take?" Mitchie Torres complained to her best friend Caitlyn. The two were currently waiting in line for a Connect 3 concert. The girls had arrived really early so that they could be among the first to enter the building and to be able to see Connect 3 arrive.

"Shouldn't be too much longer" Caitlyn said with a laugh.

"There's no point in wasting your time. It's not like Connect 3 are ever going to actually notice you" a voice sneered from behind them. Mitchie and Caitlyn turned around to see Tess Tyler, Margret/Peggy Dupree and Ella Pador standing there with smirks on their faces.

"Do you not know how to do anything else except attempt to make people's lives miserable?" Caitlyn asked.

"I'm only speaking the truth. Better to say it out loud than have your dreams crushed later" Tess replied.

"Why don't you go back into the hole you crawled out of Tess" Mitchie said as she and Caitlyn returned their attention back around to where everyone was waiting to see Connect 3 arrive. Caitlyn gripped the ropes that were keeping the fans away from the entrance.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to the hospital? It's not safe for a sick person to be out and about in a crowded place. We don't want you passing out on us" Tess said quietly. Caitlyn closed her eyes at the comment and forced herself not to turn around.

"Just forget about them Cait" Mitchie whispered. Caitlyn nodded as she looked down at the device that helped her to control her blood glucose level. A few years ago, Caitlyn had been diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. It had come as a bit of a shock and no-one in Caitlyn's family knew how to deal with it. Caitlyn had been the first person in her family to actually be diagnosed with diabetes.

"Maybe if Connect 3 would show up soon, I can take my mind off everything else" Caitlyn mumbled. All of a sudden the screams from the crowd began to get deathly loud.

"They're here!" Mitchie squealed as she grasped Caitlyn's hand. A bright smile lit up Caitlyn's face as the girls leaned forward to try and catch a glimpse of the music group. Caitlyn watched as the trio slowly made their way down the path towards the building, stopping to sign autographs and take pictures with various fans. Beside her, Mitchie was screaming like crazy and waving a poster in the air. She held her camera in her other hand, desperate to get a picture. Caitlyn was in too much of a daze of actually seeing Connect 3 so close to her to be screaming with everyone else. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see the looks that Tess, Ella and Peggy shared with each other. A sudden push to the back of her knee's had her stumbling and an extra push on her back sent her flying forward and toppling over the ropes onto the walkway, right in front of Connect 3. The crowd went silent for a moment before erupting in laughter. Caitlyn rubbed her head as she attempted to stand up.

"Would you like a hand?" a new voice asked. Caitlyn looked up to see Nate Black standing in front of her with his hand stretched out.

"S..sure" Caitlyn said as she slowly stretched out her hand to take Nate's. He easily pulled her up on her feet. Caitlyn let go of Nate's hand and went to take a step but stumbled a little bit.

"Whoa. Easy now" Nate said as he grasped her arms to steady her.

"I'm good" Caitlyn said, very aware that the crowd was intently watching this exchange. She blushed when she realised that Nate was still holding onto her arms.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked and Caitlyn could hear the pure concern in his voice. Before Caitlyn could answer, a loud beeping noise cut through the silence.

"Not now" Caitlyn groaned as Nate let go of her arms. Nate watched as she lifted her top slightly to reveal a device that looked like a speedometer. His eyes widened slightly in recognition when he realised what it was but he didn't say anything. Caitlyn pressed some buttons before she lowered her top again. "Thanks again" Caitlyn said before the turned around and walked back over to Mitchie.

"You're welcome" Nate called out before he continued to walk into the building. He faintly heard someone say "Oh my gosh! Nate Grey just touched you!" before the doors closed.

* * *

The doors closed, closing the guys off from the screaming outside and allowing them to speak at a normal level.

"So..." Jason started, looking at Nate with a grin on his face.

"What?" Nate asked.

"Who was she?" Shane asked. Nate shrugged.

"I don't know. All I know is that someone pushed her and she hit her head" Nate explained, eager to drop the subject. As he left the other two to go and get ready, his thoughts wondered over to the girl. In his entire music career, he had never met a fan that was so calm in front of him. It was like a breath of fresh air. He doubted that he would have gotten the same reaction if it had of been another person. What had caught Nate's attention the most was the fact that she was in a similar position to him. She would be familiar with the struggles that he went though every day. As he picked up his guitar, Nate felt really strongly about playing _A Little Bit Longer_ tonight.

"What's on your mind Nate?" Shane asked as he picked up a bottle of water.

"Have we got Little Bit Longer on the set list?" he asked. Jason nodded as he walked into the room.

"It's always been on the set list. Since when don't you remember?" Shane asked.

"Maybe it's the girl" Jason said with a laugh. Shane nodded and laughed as well.

"It probably is" When Nate said nothing; both boys stopped and looked at him.

"Is it the girl?" Shane asked.

"Possibly" Nate answered.

"Why has she got you thinking about her? You barely spoke to each other. You helped her up" Jason said.

"She's a diabetic" was all Nate needed to say for the boys to understand.

"Well you can work out what you're going to do later but right now we need to prepare for this concert" Jason said as he ushered the other two out of the room.

* * *

Caitlyn didn't want to worry Mitchie about her blurring visions. The concert had over excited her and her blood glucose levels were getting low but Nate was currently on stage and playing the introduction to her favourite song. Mitchie had tears in her eyes as she sang along to the song. It didn't help that Tess, Peggy and Ella were seated right in front of them. When Nate got to the middle of the song, he stopped singing but continued to play. A few girls screamed when they realised that Nate was about to give his speech that accompanied the song.

_Sometimes life can be difficult_

_Sometimes you don't have the strength to care about it_

_That's what happened to be about two and a half years ago when I got diagnosed with diabetes_

_Flipped my whole world upside down_

_Recently, I've been meeting a lot of people who have told me telling my story has inspired them_

_So to all of you I want to say thank you, because you are my inspiration_

_Nine months ago I was having one of those days where things weren't going my way_

_So I sat down and I wrote this song_

Caitlyn wiped away the tears in her eyes. She was always in tears whenever she listened to this song.

_This song is for every broken heart, for every lost dream, for every high, for every low_

_And tonight, this song is for you_

_Now here's what I want you to do, I want you to clap your hands_

_It's real simple_

_And I want you to sing this out with me as loud as you can_

_Can you do that?_

_**You don't know what you got til it's gone**_

_**You don't know what it's like to feel so low**_

_**And every time you're smiling like you know**_

_**You don't even know, no, no**_

_**You don't even know**_

_I made a commitment to myself to never let this slow me down_

Nate looked out into the audience and his gaze landed on Caitlyn. He looked at his brothers and they smiled at him, knowing what he wanted to do.

"I don't usually do this, but how many people in this audience, deal with diabetes or a similar disease?" Caitlyn was hesitant in raising her hand but Mitchie pulled it up. She could hear Tess laughing in front of her. Looking around, Caitlyn noticed that she was the only one. Even the boys were surprised that Caitlyn was the only one.

"We would like to invite you up on stage" Shane said, joining in with Nate. Jason continued to softly strum his guitar.

"What?" Caitlyn said as she shook her head. Mitchie smiled and pushed Caitlyn into the direction of the security guard that had come over to escort Caitlyn. "Mitchie no" Caitlyn said.

"Just go Cait" Mitchie said, giving her friend one last push. Caitlyn knew that she had no choice but to follow the guard. She was lead over to the stage where Shane and Jason helped her up. Caitlyn awkwardly stood there on stage, with her arms wrapped around her stomach. A stool was brought out for Caitlyn to sit on. Caitlyn smiled gratefully and sat down. Nate had come down to stand with Shane and Jason to sing the last part of the song. Their keyboardist was to take over playing for Nate. The boys took their place on either side of Caitlyn as they started the song again. Caitlyn couldn't help but look out at Mitchie. Her gaze first landed on Tess, Peggy and Ella and their faces held looks of shock and fury. Caitlyn really didn't want to run into them after the show. Looking past them, her eyes landed on Mitchie. Mitchie was smiling and sent Caitlyn a thumbs up. Giving her a smile, Caitlyn turned to look at the boys. They were all so passionate about the song, especially Nate. Nate looked at her while he sang some of the chorus and Caitlyn couldn't help but smile at him. The song ended and the area erupted in cheers. Caitlyn blushed as she hopped off the stool. Her vision went a little blurry and she stumbled a bit before regaining her footing. Nate noticed this but didn't want to say anything on stage. As he led her over to the edge of the stage, he leant over to quickly whisper in her ear.

"Come back stage after the show with your friend. You can come as our guests" was all he said before a guard helped her down. Caitlyn looked back and Nate who simply nodded at her. Caitlyn smiled as she was escorted back to her seat. Mitchie launched herself at Caitlyn while laughing excitedly.

"That was so cool" Mitchie said. Caitlyn laughed.

"It felt like a dream"

"More like a nightmare. I feel sorry for the boys for having to go through with that." Tess commented. "And just think; now a whole lot more people know that you're sick"

"Just leave me alone Tess" Caitlyn snapped. "I would really like to enjoy the rest of the concert without having to listen to your whiney voice" Tess was at a loss for words. She glared at Caitlyn before turning around.

"Nice one" Mitchie whispered to Caitlyn.

"No, a nice one is that we have got special back-stage passes for after the show" Caitlyn said quietly. Mitchie's mouth dropped open.

"Are you serious?" Mitchie asked. Caitlyn nodded with a smile. The girls shared a laugh before re-focusing their attention on the concert.

* * *

The concert had ended and the girls had decided to wait a little bit until mostly everyone had cleared out before moving. They knew that Tess and her friends also had back-stage passes and they didn't want her to see them.

"I can't wait to see her face" Mitchie said. She turned to Caitlyn. "How exactly are we able to get backstage anyway?"

"After the song when I was walking off the stage, Nate whispered quietly to me that you and I could come as their guests" Caitlyn explained as she started to walk slowly out of the arena.

"I still can't believe that you got to go up on stage" Mitchie said absentmindedly.

"I still can't believe that I was the _only_ one to go up on stage" Caitlyn said.

"Hey, it was a small concert, there weren't going to be that many" Mitchie said. The girls walked out of the seating area to see the last of the Que to go backstage.

"Let's go now" Caitlyn said as she grabbed Mitchie's hand and ran over to the door. The girls laughed as they ran and came to a stop in front of the guard.

"Passes please?" he asked.

"Well you see, we don't have passes" Caitlyn said.

"Then I'm sorry but you can't get through" the guard said. The girls looked at each other.

"Um, Nate Grey himself said that we were allowed to come here as his guests" Caitlyn said.

"What's your name?"

"Caitlyn Geller but that won't do anything seeing as he doesn't know my name" Caitlyn continued. Mitchie sighed, knowing that they weren't getting anywhere with this. The guard went to say something else but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. The girls quietly gasped when they realised whose hand it was.

"It's alright Tom, these girls are here with me" Jason said with a smile. The girls tightened their grips on their hands, not really believing this.

"Sorry Mr Grey" Tom said as he moved aside.

"No worries" Jason said. He turned to the girls. "Right this way" The girls followed Jason down the hallway.

"This is so cool" Mitchie whispered to Caitlyn who nodded in response.

"I know that Nate was the one who invited you girl's back-stage but he got caught up with some of the fans and asked me to come and get you. He had a feeling that you would have some trouble getting in" Jason explained.

"Um, why exactly were we invited back here?" Caitlyn asked. Jason smiled.

"I'm not sure exactly. You'll have to ask him. Just between us, Shane and I think that he likes you"

"Pardon?" Caitlyn asked again while Mitchie laughed. "He's spoken to me twice"

"Like I said, you're going to have to ask him" Jason said. The girls looked at each other and shrugged.

"I really need a drink" Caitlyn said quietly to Mitchie. Mitchie looked at her friend.

"I've got some extra water for you in my bag" Mitchie said as she fished a bottle out. Caitlyn thanked her before taking a drink.

"So what are your names?" Jason asked.

"I'm Caitlyn and this is Mitchie" Caitlyn introduced. Jason nodded.

"It's nice to meet you two. It probably wouldn't be worth it introducing myself" The girls laughed.

"Probably not" Caitlyn said. They all came to a stop outside a door.

"I'll tell you this now so as not to make the other girls jealous, but we want you girls to stay a while after the meet and greet here. Is that okay?" the girls nodded. "So just hang around a little bit afterwards"

"Cool" was all that Caitlyn could come up with to say. Mitchie laughed at her.

"You ready?" Jason asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be" Caitlyn said.

"Brace ourselves for Tess" Mitchie said quietly to Caitlyn. Caitlyn grinned while Jason opened the door. Only a few people turned around when the door opened and one of those was Tess. Her eyes narrowed into slits when she saw the girls.

"Just over this way" Jason directed to where the others were sitting. Mitchie grinned at Tess as they walked by and the boys took notice of this. The girls sat down and made themselves comfortable.

The meet and greet was over after an hour. Mitchie and Caitlyn looked at each other, remembering that they had been invited to stay back.

"How on earth were you two able to get into here?" Tess asked, walking up to them. Both girls groaned.

"Does it really matter?" Caitlyn asked.

"Maybe we had passes" Mitchie said. Tess sneered.

"Like you two could afford that, especially the sick one" Ella and Peggy laughed.

"Would everyone please follow me" a guard said as he walked into the room. Caitlyn snuck a look over at Nate. He mouthed _stall_ to her. Caitlyn nodded.

"This way please ladies" the guard said, walking over to the girls. Tess smirked.

"Time to go back home now, oh wait, you don't really have a home to go to anyway" Caitlyn glared at her. She hated it when people, like Tess, commented on how her parents worked a lot and weren't home much.

"Let me just tie up my shoelaces" Caitlyn said to the guard. He nodded and began to lead Tess and her friends out of the room. Nate whispered something to the guard as he walked passed. The guard nodded before returning to escorting the girls out. Caitlyn stood up from her shoes and looked around to see the boys cleaning up their table.

"What do we do now?" Mitchie asked in a quiet voice.

"I have no idea" Caitlyn answered. The boys finally looked up at the girls.

"You can come closer" Shane said. "We don't bite" The girls took slow steps towards the boys.

"It's um… nice to meet you" Mitchie said.

"You as well" Shane said.

"This is Mitchie and Caitlyn" Jason said, pointing to each girl as he said their names.

"Would you girls mind helping us put some of this stuff away?" Nate asked. "It won't take long"

"Sure" Caitlyn said. "Show us what to do" Nate smiled.

"Alright, we can start by taking these boxes down the hall towards the truck outside" Nate said. Caitlyn nodded and followed Nate to where the boxes were.

"What's in the boxes?" Caitlyn asked. She looked over to see that Mitchie was helping Shane to fold up the tables.

"Just food, water and pictures that we sign for the fans" Nate said as he picked up a box and began to lead the way outside. Caitlyn picked up a box and followed Nate.

"So can I ask you a question?" Caitlyn asked. Nate looked back at her.

"Sure?" he said.

"Why exactly did you invite my friend and me back here?" Nate stopped walking and turned around to look at Caitlyn.

"To be honest, I invited you two back here because I know that you're in the same position as me and I wanted to get to know you a little better"

"Wha….what position?" Caitlyn asked, cursing herself for stuttering over her words. Nate smiled at her.

"You have diabetes" Nate said, pointing to the device on her hip. Caitlyn looked down at it.

"Had it for a few years now" Caitlyn said. "It's not something that I really like to broadcast around"

"I know the feeling"

"Really?"

"Yea" Nate nodded. "I don't like it when people feel sympathetic for me"

"Hmm… well it's not sympathy that I get" Caitlyn mumbled.

"You get the teasing end of it?" he asked. Caitlyn nodded.

"I've learnt to just live with it now"

"You shouldn't need to learn to live with it" Nate said. Caitlyn shrugged and looked down at the box in her hand.

"How about we finish putting these boxes away?" she asked. Nate laughed and started walking again.

* * *

Once everything had been put away, the group gathered back in the lunch room. Mitchie and Caitlyn took a seat beside each other.

"How long do you think we're going to stay here?" Caitlyn asked quietly.

"I have no idea. Mom is supposed to be picking us up in a couple of hours because she knew we would grab something to eat after the concert" Mitchie said. Caitlyn nodded as she reached for the water bottle in Mitchie's bag.

"So what do you girls like to do?" Jason asked as the boys sat down.

"Well, we like doing what any young girl likes to do" Caitlyn said.

"Just hanging out" Mitchie said.

"Are you two still in school?" Shane asked. The girls nodded.

"We're in our final year right now and then we plan on travelling the world" Caitlyn said as she grinned at Mitchie. Mitchie nodded.

"Oh yeah. We plan on becoming world famous tourists"

"What about after school?" Nate asked. The girls shrugged.

"We're just going to take life as it comes to us" Caitlyn said. "We haven't really come up with a plan yet"

"I can't imagine what I would do without a plan of some sort" Jason said. "I've always needed some sort of organisation"

"I don't know," Mitchie started. "I get bored with organisation after a while. You need some sort of spontaneous adventures in your life"

"And we're still trying to find ours" Caitlyn put in. "And this happens be one for us"

"Glad we could be of help" Shane said with a laugh. After another hour and forty five minutes of talking, Caitlyn and Mitchie took note of the time.

"We really should be getting going now" Caitlyn said.

"Yeah. My mom is going to be here soon to pick us up" Mitchie said as she stood up and stretched her arms. The boys and Caitlyn stood up with her.

"Thank you for allowing us back here tonight" Caitlyn said as she grabbed an apple off the table.

"Can we at least talk to you again?" Shane asked. The girls nodded.

"Here are our numbers" Mitchie said as she grabbed a napkin and pen and began to scribble down some numbers. Mitchie handed the napkin to Shane.

"Thanks" Shane said. "We'll call you sometime soon"

"Sure" Caitlyn said. The group started walking towards the front doors. Once they got there, Mitchie saw her mom waiting for them. They turned to the boys.

"Thank you again for allowing us backstage. It was a lot of fun" Mitchie said. The boys smiled before each reached forward and hugged the girl's goodbye.

"If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here. We're both going through the same thing here" Nate whispered to Caitlyn as he hugged her. Caitlyn nodded.

"You have our numbers" The goodbyes were finished quickly and the girls waved once more before walking over to Connie's car.

"Well this is certainly an evening to remember" Mitchie said quietly.

"It certainly was" Caitlyn agreed. The two hopped into the waiting car. Looking the window, the girls waved to the boys as Connie started to drive off.

"You two look like you got more than you bargained for when you went to this concert" Connie said with a knowing smile. Mitchie and Caitlyn looked at each other.

**The End**

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**So... what did you think? I know the whole Tess thing probably seemed a little weird. I just want to say that this is a one shot. I don't have any plans to really continue this very much... unless people give me some pretty good ideas lol. **

**xx**

**I'm also going to say.. that for now i have deleted the Pirates of the Caribbean story that i put up coz i didn't really like it that much and i'm going to competely re do it now.  
**


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